Kaine Spends Busy Weekend in Alexandria

Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said Alexandria is “hugely important” in his race for U.S. Senate as well as other national offices this election year during a busy weekend in the city.

Kaine held a roundtable discussion with Northern Virginia women on Friday at in Old Town. On Saturday, he headlined the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner then stopped by Mayor Bill Euille’s re-election campaign kickoff on Sunday to offer his support.

“This is an area that takes politics real seriously,” Kaine told Patch on Sunday. “Alexandria has always treated me real well. I can’t succeed without support here.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th) introduced Kaine at Euille’s kickoff, calling him one of “President Obama’s closest confidants.”  

Kaine joked that Alexandrians “were experts in everything” when he served as governor. He said he had seen Euille’s “passion and effectiveness” as a mayor and council member while working with him to make sure Virginia’s urban cities had their educational needs met.

On Friday, Kaine discussed ideas to encourage small business growth, develop the workforce and address the federal deficit with a small group of women.

“Virginia has a lot of lessons for the national economy,” Kaine said. “We’ve had an arc that has taken us from low-education, low-income to high-education high-income. We were not a state that valued talent, but when we decided to value talent we started to thrive.”

Kaine has hosted more than 50 similar roundtables across that state this year, including at Tempo Restaurant on Duke Street.

Kaine said the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the was a fun evening spent among friends generating support for his campaign for the U.S. Senate. The event was closed to the press.

“We contrasted me and and talked about how we as a party could be voices of practical optimism,” Kaine said.

Kaine on June 2 prior to at George Mason University.